PERSPECTIVES OF TRANSLATION STUDENTS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-BASED TRANSLATION TOOLS

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) has started to dominate many fields. This threatens the future of existing professions. One of the most striking of these fields is undoubtedly translation and interpreting. With the strengthening of AI, the use of AI-based translation tools is rapidly increasing as a faster, more efficient, and easily accessible alternative to traditional methods. This raises questions and problems about the skills that a translator should have in the world of AI, the practices and contents that need to be revised in higher education curricula that provide translation education and the readiness of translation students to practice their profession in the future. The aim of this study is to determine and compare the views of the 1st- and the 4th-grade students in the Department of English Translation and Interpreting on artificial intelligence-based translation tools. A questionnaire was administered to learn the future concerns and expectations of the students who are new to translation education and to examine the 4th-grade students' evaluation of the current education program and how ready they are to become translators in the world of artificial intelligence. The students were asked questions on three main topics. These can be listed as (1) the opinions of translation students on the curriculum and course contents in terms of AI applications, (2) students' self-evaluation of their level of using AI applications in translation, and (3) their positive or negative thoughts on how AI will affect their profession in the near future. The findings demonstrate that the 4th-grade students use AI more than the 1st-grade students, and trust the accuracy of AI more; however, they are indecisive about the ratio of courses on AI-based tools in the curriculum or find it more insufficient, and have more negative concerns about the future of the profession. The results of the study are expected to contribute to the field in terms of revising the current English Translation and Interpreting curricula and course contents and raising awareness about the effects of artificial intelligence on the future of the translation profession.